Gripped Part 4: Smoke & Mirrors (4) (The Gripped)

Now being adapted for television by Emmy-Award winning producer, Mark Blutman!

Gold Medal Winner - Teen Book Category - 2026 Readers' Choice Book Awards

Gold Medal Winner - Young Adult: Coming of Age - 2026 Readers' Favorite Book Awards

One deal. One clue. Eternal reckoning.

In Montgomery, Massachusetts, illusions shatter-and one desperate deal could cost everything.

Taylor Dunkin, ex-star quarterback, battles to escape his opioid-fueled nightmare, but a shadowy pact puts his life and his family's safety on the brink. As cryptic clues surface, feuding brothers Jordan and Marc must unite to unravel the mystery of Taylor's disappearance-uncovering secrets that could redefine their bonds forever.

Meanwhile, Cathy Kagelli, fresh off grounding, dives into her boyfriend Jason's hidden world of drugs, hatching a risky plan to pull him back ... at the potential cost of her own soul.

Who will emerge from the deception unscathed?

Stacy A. Padula, a native of Pembroke, Massachusetts, has accrued years of experience working with adolescents as a private educational consultant with extensive experience in the fields of college counseling, tutoring, and standardized test preparation, as well as a mentor, life coach, and youth group leader. For roughly eight years, she was the director of an education company in the metrowest of Massachusetts, where she managed a staff of thirty tutors and developed all company curriculum. In 2016, she left the metrowest and founded South Shore College Consulting & Tutoring based in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 2019, she founded another company: Briley & Baxter Publications, named after her two miniature dachshunds (who are far more popular on Instagram than her - ha!). Awards: Stacy Padula was featured in Marquis Who's Who in America (2018) for excellence in literature and education, Marquis Who's Who in the World (2018 & 2019), and Cambridge Who's Who for Young Professionals (2009). In 2018, she was awarded the Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2019, the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP of New York, NY) chose Stacy Padula as its "Top Educational Consultant of the Year." Each of her novels have risen to best seller status in a variety categories on Amazon from 2010-2019. From February through March of 2019, "Gripped Part 1" was the #1 New Release on Amazon Kindle in its category. As a teenager, Stacy was a high honors student who graduated in the top 10% of her class at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston, Massachusetts. She was in National Honor Society and Who's Who Among American High School Students. She earned the Maxima Cum Laude/Silver Medal in the National Latin Exam, three Varsity letters, and the Louisa May Alcott Writing Award. Academics aside, as a child, Stacy was the Massachusetts State Bowling Champion for her age group in all events. She went on to compete in the International Candlepin Bowling tournament held in Vermont. Stacy was also a top-ten finalist in Miss Teen Southern New England, and (back to academics - Stacy is a bit of a nerd) she was awarded the Academic Achievement Award for having the highest GPA out of all 83 contestants. Background: Stacy was a Presidential Scholar and on the Dean's List at Wentworth, where she studied Architectural Engineering and Interior Design. After graduation, she worked at an architecture firm in Boston from 2006-2008. Although she enjoyed her work, she felt something was missing-she wanted to spend more time helping people grow academically and spiritually. For close to a year, she split her time between tutoring, writing, and working at a design firm in Plymouth. When she fell in love with tutoring, she left the A&D industry completely and took a full-time position with a private education company. She attained tutoring certification in 2009 through The International Tutor Association. Her career took off, and within one year, she was promoted to Program Director. Stacy knew she had found her niche! During her eight years with that company, she received multiple promotions and held a variety of titles, including Manager of Curriculum & Instruction and Director of Operations. In 2016, Stacy founded South Shore College Consulting & Tutoring. Then in 2019, she founded Briley & Baxter Publications-a publishing company that uses part of its monthly proceeds to support animal rescues. In her spare time, she enjoys skiing, attending Bruins games, reading about psychology, taking her dogs to the beach, and spending time with her family, husband Tim, and friends. Stacy writes young adult novels in the hopes of preparing teens to face the "war zone" that is high school-to help kids deal with the stress and peer pressure and to encourage them to "steer a straight path, pursue God, and not fall for the false promises of the world."